Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“You know,” I say, “I never thought about it in that way, but you’re right. She was only twenty-five. And Dale was ten.”
My lips tremble a bit. Because now I know. I know why Dale and Donny needed a home so badly, and I know why Uncle Talon really wanted to give that to them.
Aunt Marj doesn’t know that I know, but then—
“You have a strange look on your face, Ava. Is there something you want to talk about?”
“I—”
“Oh my goodness.” The rosiness drains from Aunt Marj’s cheeks. “You know, don’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, Ava. Please don’t lie to me. There’s no mistaking the look on your face. I saw it in the mirror when I found out. It must’ve been Dale or Donny. None of the other kids know.”
I swallow. She doesn’t know that Brock knows. Of course Dale and Donny know. It happened to them.
“Aunt Marj…”
“But why? We all made a decision a long time ago not to poison you kids with the horror our family had been through.”
I drop my jaw. “So there are secrets. Secrets about our family. Why? Why wouldn’t you trust us with these secrets?”
“It’s not a matter of trust, Ava. We didn’t want to burden any of you with the horrors of the past.”
“But now we’re being burdened anyway. I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t my parents tell me everything?”
“That’s a difficult question to answer. One I think you should probably talk to them about.”
“My parents won’t talk to me, Aunt Marjorie. I asked my mother for some information over a week ago, and she hasn’t gotten back to me. And it’s ridiculous that she hasn’t because I know she’s a competent detective. More than competent, and I asked for her expertise.”
“Ava—”
“Secrets. So many secrets. The cards were right.”
“The cards? You mean your tarot?”
“Yes, everything’s been pointing me to secrets lately. Something to do with my family. Secret knowledge. And I want to know, Aunt Marj. I want to know exactly what all of you have been keeping from me.”
“Ava, you already know more than my children do if you know about Dale and Donny.”
I swallow harshly, trying to make the lump in my throat go away. “I’ve cried so hard about this. I can’t even imagine what they went through.”
“I can’t either. And my own brother went through the same thing. But they all lived through it, and they’re stronger for it. All of them found love. And Talon was the perfect father for Dale and Donny because he understood them.”
I nod, choking back a sob.
“Also, you need to understand that they have healed. This is decades in the past for them. It seems so new to you because you just found out. But they’ve moved past it. They’re good, strong men. All of them.”
I nod.
“Ava, it’s so very important that you not tell my children about this. I know you and David are close.”
“I won’t, and I haven’t,” I say. “But Brock knows, Aunt Marj. And he and Dave are closer than Dave and I are.”
“I think you’re all pretty close. You’re our own Huey, Dewey, and Louie.”
I attempt a smile. “I was just thinking about that. It’s so funny that I haven’t thought about it in years.”
“Well, you grew up. All of you became your own people. I suppose David and Brock stayed closer since they went to college together. You went to a different school.”
“That was me being a rebel,” I say. “And honestly? I missed Dave and Brock so badly those four years. But it was good that I went on my own. It’s where I learned to stand on my own two feet and where I found my determination to build my business without the help of my family’s name and money.”
“I’m not sure you know how proud your parents and your aunts and uncles are of you for that, Ava. But we are. We truly are.” She sniffles a bit.
“That means a lot to me. Thank you.” I swallow. “But I have to ask, Aunt Marjorie, why did you choose to keep us all in the dark about Dale and Donny? About Uncle Talon?”
And about so many other things?
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but at the time, Dale and Donny had just come into the family, and they were healing. Brad and Diana had just been born, and your mother had just found out she was pregnant with you. We were facing a new generation of Steels, and we desperately wanted to leave all the dreadfulness in the past.”
“But it’s a part of who we are,” I say. “There’s nothing shameful about it.”
“No one was ashamed,” Marj says. “But it’s a horrific story, as you know. We didn’t want to taint the innocent souls coming into our family with what we had been through.”